Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Room (Game Series)

The choices of games on Android and iOS are crap. They just are. The more I scour the list, the more I become contemptuous that people even bothered. The grand makeup of these games usually consists of silly casual games filled to the brim with obnoxious advertisements and/or pay-to-win mechanics. I hate them. They're stupid. Mobile gaming is a joke.

Now for the exception.

"The Room" is a game released on iOS in 2012 and on Android devises in 2013. I got the Android version. First thing I noticed was that there was no demo and you had to pay money to play it. The game has no advertisements at all. There are no micro-transactions... period. And what's more... quality. The game has serious effort put into its graphics, game play, and writing. Dear God. It is a masterpiece.

The Room centers around a protagonist trying to unlock the secrets of a an extremely elaborate puzzle box. But the more he pushes forward into its mysteries, things begin to feel a little like you are diving into things you really shouldn't be. Big and small soon become blurred the further you go. And by the end of it, you may have lost yourself entirely.

The story of The Room is usually delivered through a series of letters and notes that appear infrequently. And the story is amazing. Genuinely amazing. I am saying that most modern day films would be wise to borrow from it. It feels a bit like it's on the pathway to Cthulhu, with the occult aspect at least, but it's more about a particular practice of mystical science which involves siphoning energy from a void.

So far there are five games in the series as listed below:

The Room

The Room Two

The Room Three

The Room: Old Sins

The Room VR: A Dark Matter (Sadly, I cannot play this one because I don't have a VR device. Am sad.)

As to the first four games, I cannot recommend them enough. Every story goes much deeper into the world's lore. You will become more and more lost into this seemingly never-ending puzzle. The atmosphere and sound will greatly assist in drawing you towards that inevitable void. By the end of "Old Sins," I could not have been more pleased by the shared experiences this game series had given me.

Fireproof Games spared no expense in creating one of the most ambient adventure stories on a platform that is known for being, not only disappointing, but often ridiculously divisive. My point is... if you were ever wondering if there was a mobile game worth your time that could compare with console or PC releases, The Room series is just that. It is worth the money. It is worth all the money they ask, and I sincerely mean that.

But if you are going to play this game, you have to be prepared to role play. The game is best played with a headset or earbuds. Turn out the lights. Give yourself to the story and the puzzles therein. You need to allow yourself to get lost in the world they give you. Really, this is the best way to enjoy the series that I have found. There's so much there, and I discover more each and every time I play through the series.

The first three games, as well as the VR game, are available on Steam as well; however, I really preferred the touch controls of the mobile version. It made it feel like you were manipulating the puzzle yourself rather then by proxy (ie the mouse). Nevertheless, the steam versions are a graphical upgrade to the originals, so there's that.

I do someday want to play the VR game. I just can't afford a system like that for a single game. But I can only assume that it is a wonderful experience. Play these games any way you can... and enjoy!

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